Chapter 41 - 41: I Made Them For You

She knew that Kevin was picky and only liked to eat a particular food, and he had become a good cook because of that. If it were a choice between bad food and no food at all, he would choose the latter.

Sophia waited a little longer before heading to lunch. By this time, most of the first group of students had finished eating, and there were only a few people in line before the meal windows. Casually, she got some food and then, having finished, headed back to the classroom.

Lunch break was nice and long, and so Sophia continued to read when she got back.

A moment later, Louie came in. He sat in his seat and handed Sophia a plastic box.

Sophia was surprised. She didn't take it immediately but asked him, "What's this?"

"It's… I baked a few cupcakes myself." Louie said, with a hint of red in his cheeks, "Here you go."

"No, no. Keep it for yourself."

"But I… made them for you…" Louie reached out and placed the box on her desk before she refused again, "They really are delicious. If you… like them, I'll bring more for you."

The cake had been put on her table. Sophia felt she could not refuse again, so she nodded and said, "Okay, thank you."

Speaking of baking, Kevin was good at it too. When she lived with Kevin, he used to bake all kinds of snacks for her.

After the evening classes, Louie packed up his things and began walking outside. Halfway to the door, he turned around to remind Sophia, "Be sure to eat it today, it won't taste as good tomorrow."

The girls in the class who had not gone home yet turned to look at Sophia, their eyes full of surprise.

The girls nearest Sophia didn't dare say anything. But several students who were far away from her began to whisper.

"When did they get so close?"

"Haven't you heard? Last night, several girls from another class tried to take advantage of Delgado, but Sophia handled it for him. People are saying that Sophia wants to take Louie as a brother!"

"The two best looking boys in the class become her brothers… does she just want to take brothers now?"

"Forget it. If she wants to do something, she'll do it. No one's going to fight her, right?"

"Right! A boyfriend can't be more important than life…"

Sophia took her box of cakes from her desk and intended to take it home.

"What's this?" Mariah approached curiously.

"Cakes… Louie Delgado made them." Sophia raised her hand, "Do you want to have a taste?"

Before Mariah could answer, Melissa jumped up and said, "I want to try!"

"Then come with me! No eating in class!"

Sophia picked up her bag and went to the shed. Melissa followed behind her hurriedly. Mariah and Carol also came out. They all lived at home and would be going home soon.

Sophia unpacked the box with four exquisite cupcakes. Four cakes and four people, she gave them one each and kept one for herself.

Louie was a good cook. The cake was soft and delicious.

After eating the cake, she threw the paper box into the dustbin and rode home.

It was the fourth round of the chess competition, and the opponents were very strong. She should have got back earlier. She was at risk of not accumulating enough points.

Only thirteen people would advance to the final after this round. Then it was sorted into the top three, and the rest got the Excellence Award.

In other words, as long as she could survive this round, she would get an Excellence Award! If she was lucky, she might get a higher reward.

She could almost see the money beckoning to her.

As soon as she got home, she rushed into the room and turned on the computer.

The competition had been going on for half an hour. She had been delayed for some time because of school. When she logged in to the game interface, the game chart looked very odd.

The only contestants left were part of the 'M' Army. The icons of the other contestants were all marked off, indicating that they had been eliminated.

Although the tournament advanced contestants according to their points, contestants could not play endless games. Losing a game didn't eliminate the contestant, but it would make the contestant lose one point. Once a score was below minus three, the contestant was eliminated immediately.

The members of the 'M' Army were fighting with each other. It was quite fierce. Only thirteen contestants could be left after this round, and there were over thirty Ms, so some would definitely be eliminated.

Several chess tables had displayed the word "Thirty Minutes", meaning that many players were in a tough battle, and hadn't finished a game in half an hour.

Sophia clicked "Start" and began to play.

Once she appeared, the audience on the webcast immediately boomed.

"I thought she wasn't coming."

"Finally, someone comes to kick your ass, Ms. Ha-ha!"

"Is this 'M276' going to lose? After watching a few games, I'm beginning to get the hang of the rules!"

"KAP is great! Kick their ass!"

"I'll send you a yacht. I'll keep watching!"

"I feel like I'm watching the World Chess Championships! It's so intense. I didn't feel it in the first few rounds, but now… They are all masters! What the hell is going on here? It seems that KAP's chess skills are even more terrifying than I thought!" The host of the webcast chimed in.

The audience was getting even more excited.

"Picture a peerless master coming out of a deep mountain and easily defeating a bunch of masters!"

"It's so exciting!"

"I don't know chess. I can't tell the strength of these people. Is the host, right?"

"I'm a chess teacher. This level… It really is like an international competition. No exaggeration. That 'M378' seems like Mitch Watson…"

"Oh my god! Mitch Watson? The world champion? Are you kidding? Why would he take part in a domestic network competition?"

The host added, "You've reminded me, I think you're right. This M378 is a bit like Mitch's chess style: quick, ruthless, and surprising. But… why would he take part in this game?"

Sophia had never played a live webcast. Naturally, she didn't know the number of people watching her each game.

Her mind was all on chess.. Each of her opponents was a master, and she did not dare to relax.